Securing access to, and thereby ensuring accuracy in the dispensing, monitoring and tracking of prescription medications, addresses a significant medical and health cost concern, as does assuring the timely recording and communicating the administering of medication to the patient. According to the World Health Organization, each year the improper dispensing of prescribed medications results in harm to approximately 1.5 million people. This has led to significant medical costs in treating such patients. For example, in the year 2000 alone, such errors resulted in nearly $1 billion in added medical costs. Also, in the HHS and CMS Report of 2006, it was stated that over $170 billion was paid out by insurance carriers for unnecessary and/or wasted prescription medications in the United States.
It has been found that many patients do not comply with proper usage of prescription medications for a variety of reasons. In some instances, it may be a consequence of a patient knowingly taking medication for which that patient does not have a prescription, and which, for example, may instead have been prescribed to another patient. In other instances, a patient may inadvertently take too much or too little medication, as a consequence of not clearly understanding the dosing instructions or because of forgetfulness or confusion. Improper usage of prescribed medications can also occur as a consequence of a patient not realizing a risk of a harmful interaction with another medication being taken at the same time by the patient, or by a patient continuing to take a medication without realizing that he or she is experiencing a harmful side effect.